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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763769">Checkmate</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValaSidra/pseuds/ValaSidra'>ValaSidra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Bashing, Alya Césaire Bashing, F/M, Gen, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Marinette Lectures Adrien, Marinette Stops Taking The High Road</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:15:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,406</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763769</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValaSidra/pseuds/ValaSidra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette is tired of Lila's lies. One day Lila pushes it to far and Marinette snaps.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Penny Rolling/Jagged Stone, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>368</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! This is my first Miraculous Ladybug fic! I have only seen very few of the episodes so there is a bunch of timeline and relationship stuff that is purely based on the fanfictions that have been posted! I will say that I added a bit of myself to Marinette and I do not have a Beta! You have been warned! If you find anything completely wrong or if there are just some mistakes you noticed, please let me know in the comments! Anyhoo, enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<hr/><p>Marinette ground her teeth together in an attempt to avoid punching Lila’s teeth out. First, Lila had lied about Jagged. Now, she is lying about Tony Stark--her other honorary uncle.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah,” Lila said with her shrill voice, “Uncle Anthony just loves to make things for me! He is normally so serious, you know, but he gets the biggest smile whenever I come around.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette couldn’t take it anymore. Lying about her was one thing. Lila had even stopped lying about Jagged when Adrien had pointed out that Marinette knew Jagged personally. However, no one knew the fact that Marinette knew Tony Stark. She gave a huff before raising her hand and asking to go to the restroom. After being granted permission, she hurried out the door and to the bathroom. She had her out within seconds and dialed Tony. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, sweetie!” Tony sang in greeting.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi, Uncle Tony!” Marinette replied, “Can you do me a huge favor?”</p><p> </p><p>Tony’s reply was instantaneous, “Of course what do you need?”</p><p> </p><p>“I need help taking down this girl in class. She is using everyone as her pawns and turned them against me because I didn’t fall for her lies.”</p><p> </p><p>“How can I help?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” she drew the word out, “She is currently lying about knowing you and how you are a super serious person that only smiles when you see her.”</p><p> </p><p>“What!” he exclaimed in disbelief, "Of course I will help! I'll be there tomorrow! Just leave this to me!"</p><p> </p><p>Marinette thanked him and hung up. Lila’s little kingdom was going down and her pawns were going to be taken off the chess board. By the end of the next day, her lies would be out, and she would drown in the fallout without any chance of rescue. It would soon be over. Marinette would never trust the class again, but they wouldn’t have any more of their lives ruined by the lies that were filling their minds. The class would never have her bountiful help again, but they would have a chance at being better than they were. This was going to be their second chance. If they threw it away, that was their problem, and she would not save them--from their own idiocy--again. There would still be hurt, and she was sure they would be angry at her for not getting them out of it sooner because they would not want to see how it was their own fault. She walked out of the bathroom, a hard look in her eyes. It was almost over. She had Lila in check, but soon she would be in checkmate.</p><p> </p><p>The class was milling about as they waited for the final bell to ring, and Marinette walked up to Lila and leaned to speak quietly in her ear, “Check.”</p><p> </p><p>Lila looked at her in confusion and had a small amount of fear in her eyes. Marinette only smiled and gave a cheerful “Have a good day!” as the bell rang. She hurried to her home and dashed up the stairs. She wanted to have a brand-new outfit for the next day. It was going to be a day worth celebrating, at least for her. She worked on the outfit until she had finished at three in the morning. It was a baby blue short-sleeved shirt with small white flowers, that had a ladybug on one of the petals, embroidered on it. It was paired with a white ruffle skirt going to mid-calf that had blue flowers crawling up to her hip from the hem. When morning dawned bright and clear, with no cloud in sight, she woke with a smile. She was ready for the day. It was going to be a glorious day. That was all she could ask for. The fact that she was up early was the first surprise of many that day. She was at school early too, and there had been no incidents with Lila or her band of followers. Lila may have had many pawns, but Marinette had two knights and two queens, although she only knew about one of them. </p><p> </p><p>The class trickled into the room, gossiping about the lie that the little liar told that morning. Apparently, both Jagged Stone and Tony Stark were honorary uncles to her, and they had been going to come to her party that she was having on Marinette’s birthday, but they had something come up that held them back. A slow smirk filled Marinette’s face. One of those two was going to show up today. It would be wonderful to see the blood drain from Lila’s face as she realized that Marinette was the last person she wanted to mess with. Too bad she was all the way in the back and only able to see the back of the liar’s head. Ms. Bustier walked into the room with a strangely cheery “Good morning!”. Marinette turned her attention to the front for the lesson. About halfway through the thirty minute lesson, they heard voices in the hallway. The curiosity of the class was peaked. Who was in the hall? The question was soon answered when Tony <em> and </em> Jagged walked into the room, closely followed by their significant others, Penny and Pepper. </p><p> </p><p>“-I get to adopt her if the chance comes up!” Tony was exclaiming as he walked into the room.”</p><p> </p><p>“No way,” Jagged replied, “She was my honorary niece first. It would be so unrock-and-roll of me to let you get custody.”</p><p> </p><p>Penny sighed and looked at Pepper before saying, “What about joint custody?”</p><p> </p><p>Tony and Jagged looked at her before looking back at each other and saying at the same time, “That works.”</p><p> </p><p>Rose, the kind soul she had been, attempted to fill the classed curiosity by asking, “What are you here for?”</p><p> </p><p>Jagged gave a booming laugh before replying, “Seeing my honorary niece of course.”</p><p> </p><p>Alya, the idiot, said, “Oh! Lila is right here!”</p><p> </p><p>Tony gave her a confused look, “Who?”</p><p> </p><p>Pepper continued on, “We have never met a Lila. Is this person saying that they know us?”</p><p> </p><p>Alya was looking at Lila in betrayal as the two celebrities smiled at Marinette, “Marinette! Come give your honorary uncles a hug!”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette stood from her seat and ran up to them, crushing them in a hug. They were awesome! She hadn’t realized Tony was going to get Jagged involved! </p><p> </p><p>Marinette spun around and leaned until she was right in Lila’s face and said, “And mate. You lost at your own game, Lila, and your kingdom is going to burn around you. That’s what happens when your opponent achieves a checkmate.”</p><p> </p><p>She then spun around and walked up to Penny and Pepper, who had already handed Ms. Bustier a note to get her out of class, and walked out. They were quickly stopped by Adrien’s voice shouting behind them. They paused and turned to see him running toward them.</p><p> </p><p>Adrien grabbed Marinette’s shoulders in a loose grip as he said, “I am very disappointed in you, Marinette. I thought we agreed to take the high road. She isn’t hurting anyone.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette felt the tight reign that she had on her emotions snap, and she slapped him across the face, saying, “‘She isn’t hurting anyone’ my flat bread! She was hurting me! She convinced everyone that I had thought were my <em> friends </em> that I was a jealous liar! She got them to ostracize me for supposedly bullying her when she was the one bullying me! She threatened me! I took it for a while, but I am <em> done </em> being a doormat and letting them step all over me! How is letting her get away with it do anyone any good? She was destroying our classmates’ careers! Alya posted interviews with her on the Ladyblog! If she showed her blog, with those still up, to any college for journalism, she would be laughed out! You may not care enough to stop her before there is any chance of them saving their careers, but I do. They may have treated me like less than dirt, but I at least have the decency to give them the chance to make it in the real world. <em> You </em> were content to just let them destroy their futures! Do <em> not </em> talk to me about taking the ‘high road’!”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien stared at her in shock, but she didn’t care. She grabbed Pepper’s hand and began tugging her toward the door leading out. She was done with it all. They knew now. Lila had fallen. She lost. That was all that mattered.</p><p> </p><p>The end.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. React Away</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>How everyone reacts to Marinette's burning of Lila's empire.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So XxGreenNinjaChickxX, asked me to write another chapter where we see the rest of the class' reactions, and I really like that idea. Anyhoo, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Lila’s day had started out wonderfully. Little miss goody-two-shoes was out of the way and being quiet while the rest of the class ate out of the palm of her hand. Her empire was thriving and nothing was going to tear it down. She gave a smile as she came up with a great story.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know Alya, I could try to get you an interview with Tony Stark,” She said in the sweetest voice possible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Girl! You can do that? That would be amazing!” Alya exclaimed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila let herself fall into the routine of telling a story, “Of course! He may even tell you about the car he is making for me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He makes things for you?” Alya asked with awe in her voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What an idiot</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Lila thought before replying, “Oh yeah, Uncle Anthony just loves to make things for me! He is normally so serious, you know, but he gets the biggest smile whenever I come around.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya continued to fawn over Lila and drew everyone else into it. She was basking in the attention as she watched Marinette walk out of the room. It was close to the end of the school day and she could go home and take a long relaxing bath. Maybe she could come up with a story of saving a puppy from drowning or something like that? Lila wasn’t even paying attention to what she was saying anymore. This was too easy. Marinette should be thanking her. After all, she showed the girl who her true friends were. None of her classmates were her friends. The others walked in and out of the group to grab their things so that they could sit down to listen until the bell rang for the end of the day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila didn’t even notice the blue eyed girl walk up to her until she heard her whisper, “Check” in her ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila was confused. Was she talking about chess? Why would she reference chess? Then, it hit her. She was using the class as pawns. What was Marinette planning? Lila had no idea how she would shift it off of her, but she just had to trust in her skills. That was the worst mistake she could have made. The next day started out normal with the class hanging off her every word about how she saved a puppy from drowning the night before. Marinette didn’t even react. Lila just shrugged internally. She had been blowing the day before out of proportion. Marinette wasn’t referencing chess. Unfortunately, her pawns all had to return to their seats for the lesson, but it didn’t matter. They would be eating out of the palm of her hand at lunch. She didn’t know what hit her when Tony Stark and Jagged Stone came in talking about custody over someone. It was even worse when Rose asked why they were there, and Alya said they were looking for her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span> had to be what Marinette had been talking about. Lila spiralled, trying to figure out a way to dig herself out of the hole she had buried herself in. There had to be some way out of this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was made even worse when Marinette got in her face and said, “And mate. You lost at your own game, Lila, and your kingdom is going to burn around you. That’s what happens when your opponent achieves a checkmate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt her empire burning around her. After Marinette left, everyone turned on her. Shouting accusations and questions. Rationalizing with themselves and pleading for it all to be a joke. Lila couldn’t take it. She had lost. Somehow, she had lost to Marinette. She won, but the reality was that Marinette had apparently just been biding her time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How could you? My blog was my career! I posted interviews with you on there! If I had gone to a university with that, I would have never been accepted!” Alya screamed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her scream was followed by Nino, “I had believed you when you said that you could get me an interview and an internship! You could have ruined my career!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lila scoffed, “If you all had actually listened to Marinette in the first place, you never would have believed me.” A smirk made its way onto her face, “I guess this revealed your true colors. Afterall, true friends would never have believed someone you just met instead of her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all grew silent, and Lila dashed out. She was gone by the next week. Alya took down all of the interviews with Lila and had an apology video out instead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She said, “To all my viewers. I must apologize for not doing my duty to you. I failed to fact check, and even worse, I refused to listen to my friend’s attempts at reminding me of my duty. From now on, I promise to never fail to fact check each and every single post.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<span>She followed the posting of the video with a call to Marinette to apologize. Marinette forgave her, but informed her that they would never be friends again. It was on Alya, and she knew it. From now on, she would be the best person she could be. Hopefully she could overcome this and become a true reporter. However, this was not the end. A month after Lila returned to Italy, she was served lawsuits from </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the celebrities that she had lied about. She did not escape any retribution. She had it all fall on her head and finish burning what was left of her empire--which was only her parents--to the ground. They forced her to get a job to pay off the lawsuits, and she had a bodyguard follow her to report on her every move. There was no chance she could come back from this, and that was how it should be.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading! Again, if you want me to write anything, please leave it in the comments, and I will do my best to deliver! Have a great day and stay safe!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! Again, if you want to let me know anything please let me know in the comments! Also, if you want something specific done for a ship or trope, please let me know, and I will do my best to write it. Have a great day! Stay safe!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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